Beijing: Work started on the $50bn Nicaragua canal on Monday, under the development of Chinese company Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND).
Nicaragua's vice president Moisés Omar Halleslevens and HKND inaugurated the canal in a ceremony in the southwestern municipality of Rivas.
The 278 kilometre waterway is due to commence operations by around 2020.
Nicaragua will also allow HKND to develop projects including two ports, airport, roads, railway and a tourist resort. The local congress also passed a law granting HKND land expropriation powers, and exempting the company from local tax and commercial regulations. [23/12/14]
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